


Not a Lady

by AmazonX



Series: Not a Lady [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Darcy can really whack a baseball, Mean Girls, Multi, Tony loves the Senate, just one of the boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 13:18:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2311022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmazonX/pseuds/AmazonX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy is slightly jealous that Jane, Betty, Natasha and Pepper all go to lunch and don't invite her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not a Lady

**Author's Note:**

> I get jealous of things sometimes. Sometimes irrationally so, but I can work it out with writing. And I just wanted to work out what would happen if Darcy was feeling left out. Thank you to Emyrldlady, my constant beta and awesome chick.

The giggles and click-clomping of various types of heels alerted Darcy that the “ladies” had returned from their lunch. Jane wobbled in, carrying four different tote bags from stores Darcy wouldn’t dream of setting foot inside. She dropped them by her desk and sat heavily in her chair, still smiling from whatever joke was told as the ladies split up from their exit from the elevator. Darcy just took a deep breath and ignored it as best as she could. She refused to let the tears prickling her eyes even begin. That would blur her vision, and she was currently watching six monitors of data being processed for telescopes around the world, including the Hubble.

“Oh, Darcy, I’m exhausted. We must have gone to every shoe store on Madison and Park Avenues. Why don’t you let this go and we can pick it up tomorrow?” Jane said, stifling a yawn.

“I have four more hours of video to review of the black hole anomaly near Vega. Remember how that’s not supposed to be there? And you asked me to hack the Hubble to check it out? Someone needs to make sure that it’s a sudden natural occurrence and not a nefarious entry into our galaxy by some evil entity.”

Darcy tried her best not to sound like a bitch, but it was really difficult to be upbeat about doing astrophysics when she was trained to do things in a more diplomatic sense. Jane should be in the lab, crunching numbers and looking at star maps, and Darcy should be meeting with people from other countries and planets and galaxies and discussing their politics and dogma and the like. That’s what she studied. Jane probably didn’t even know she’d gotten her MA in Political Studies from Columbia University at night online. Jane had her dream job and her dream man. Whatever Darcy wanted or needed was irrelevant to her.

“Oh, alright, you finish. I can’t think anymore. Too many glasses of wine in those dressing rooms. Will you be OK by yourself?” Jane asked, standing and gathering her purchases.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be great.”

Darcy turned away and put her headphones back on, the huge muff ones that blocked out all sound, so she could listen to the celestial sounds from a satellite dish expressly for that purpose. Darcy ignored Jane as she left the room and just concentrated on processing data, organizing, cataloguing the views, the sounds, everything she came across. As she predicted, after an hour of spooling through video, the black hole wasn’t really a black hole, but a shadow cast by a meteoroid cloud, and so it was solved. Darcy shut down the computers, turned off the coffee maker and put all the dirty mugs from the sink into the dishwasher to wash for the morning. After turning off the lights and setting the alarm, Darcy followed the blinking lights in the vestibule to the elevator that JARVIS held for her to take her to her floor.

Finally inside her own small suite, far away from Jane and Thor’s, due to the noise and vibrations, she sat before her television, checking out the evening news, eating a microwaved dinner. She sat there, watching as the talking heads argued about fetal rights, and Darcy sat up and began to yell at the television. This caused her upstairs neighbor to pound on the floor, even though he really couldn’t hear her through the floor. He had his window open, so did she, so he heard her yelling. She grabbed the softball she kept on her coffee table and threw it at the ceiling a few times. Then she heard the laughter.

“Barton, you are really fucking weird,” she said under her breath. “At least the team takes you seriously.” Darcy sighed and continued watching her news. She ended the night by showering and trying to read a book. But she wasn’t able to concentrate. She just kept thinking about how every few weeks, when their schedules coincided, the ladies would lunch, and never once did they ask her to join them. OK, yes, she was the youngest of the women involved with the Avengers. Maybe her manners or her tastes weren’t as evolved. What did that matter? Couldn’t she learn something from them? Isn’t that what older women did for younger ones? Help them become stronger and savvier, more intelligent women? Apparently not.

In two months, when the next luncheon happened, Darcy couldn’t help herself. She took the afternoon off and went down to the gym and sports center, wearing her father’s Pittsburgh Pirates painter’s cap and carrying the aluminum bat she wielded through high school and college, she decided to rev up the pitching machine and slam baseballs against the canvas back of the batting cage. Steve, Sam and Clint used it as well, betting on who could crack a wooden bat first. Usually, Steve would end up doing it, to show off, considering he loved baseball but could never play as a child.

She started with the machine on slow pitch, just to warm up, satisfied with the “ping” sound the balls made against her aluminum bat. But after she’d collected balls the third time and reloaded the machine, turned up the speed and she was batting against Nolan Ryan, or the Tony Stark robot equivalent. She’d also developed an audience, which she ignored. She kept slamming baseballs until the machine ran out for the sixth time, and she was covered in sweat and exhausted. That was when the applause erupted behind her. Even Bruce and Tony had been called down, as well as Thor who stood with the other three usual suspects.

“Wow, Tiny Dancer, I didn’t know you were a slugger,” Tony said. “You got a mean swing.”

“Thanks. It helps to get out the frustrations.” Darcy gave him half a smile.

“I gotta remember that one,” he said.

“Sure, I can help you, if you want. Just remember, hips before hands.”

Tony gave her a quizzical look, then turned and left the area. Steve, Clint and Sam stayed, talking to Darcy about her swing, where she honed her talent and how good was she at basketball. She laughed and said, “Well, the last time I tried to play point guard, I almost gave myself a black eye.” Darcy pointed down at her generous bosom. Sam and Clint laughed out loud, while Steve politely turned away while snickering.

“You know what, short stack,” Sam said. “We gonna play, and you get one of those heavy duty straps on you, you and me versus the gray boys, how does that sound?”

“Gray boys…nice. You’re stuck in 1989? They called and wanted their word back.”

This brought belly-laughs out of Steve and Clint. They broke for the night, and Darcy finally felt good about her night activities. Finally, while not saving the city, or the country or the planet, she was interacting with the Avengers and making friends. Who needs ladies’ lunch? She had hoops with the boys!

*-*-*-*

Darcy finished her printouts as fast as she could and collated them for Jane into piles, organized by importance. She would be falling asleep by the time she got to the reports that re-reiterated what she’d read the hour before. And Darcy had just enough time to get into her iron bra and shorts to join the boys in the gym for basketball and then beers in the common lounge.

Jane sat up when the stack of reports hit her desk, startling her. “Hey, watch where you’re chucking those. Is everything in…”

“Everything is how you like it. If it’s not, it will have to wait until tomorrow. I have plans tonight and I won’t be reachable.” Darcy grabbed her messenger bag and started for the door.

“Plans? With who? I thought I was your only friend!” Jane shouted after her out the door.

“Not anymore!” Darcy called back. Then when she was safe in the elevator, she said, “Not by a long shot.”

The night was exciting and fun, and Darcy felt just like one of the boys. Although any blue conversations were kept to a minimum, since Steve didn’t think it was fitting conversation in front of Darcy, no matter how she protested that she loved a dirty joke. But there were some things Steve just wouldn’t waver on.

Darcy also noticed Steve liked to stare at her. He wasn’t rude about it, only looking when he thought she didn’t see. But she was good at using the mirrors in the gym. He seemed to appreciate her. So, when he offered to walk her to her room, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to kiss him. Steve hesitated a moment, only a moment, then he pulled Darcy to him, grabbing her hips and holding her tightly. Darcy started to open her door, intending to pull him in, but Steve pulled back.

“I think I should go, Darcy,” he said, wiping the smudge of red lipstick off his mouth.

“No, come inside. We can have a beer, watch a little TV…kiss some more. What do you say?” she said, smiling.

He was still breathing very heavily, but he looked down, licked his kiss-swollen lips and said, “Wow, yeah,, I want to. I really, really, REALLY want to. But I think…we should at least wait until…like…”

“The third date?” she provided. “That’s customary.”

“I know, yeah.” He mouthed at her neck, trying not to leave a mark, then moved back to her lips, both hands grasping at her hips. Pulling back, he stepped back completely, then coughed a bit and tried to compose himself. “Tomorrow, you and me, not the other guys, pizza in Brooklyn. I’ll take my bike, so I’ll get you a helmet. Good night.”

Steve left her abruptly, but she was sure there would be 3 quick dates before they were in bed together.

*-*-*-*

Slowly, as the weeks went by, Steve, Darcy, Sam and Clint all planned different weekly events. Things like sports, which Darcy loved the most, especially baseball. Clint was an American League fan, but Steve was a National League fan, so they went back and forth. Darcy didn’t care if it was the Yankees, the Mets, the Nationals, the Red Sox, any team. She loved seeing basketball games, hockey and football, too. And the beers and food afterward.

It didn’t surprise her one bit when Thor asked to join, and of course he was welcome. He loved Midgardian sporting events, and he liked participating. But he was warned not to use his super powers. He wasn’t allowed to fly when he was sinking a basket. They also went to movies together, all the action and horror films the “ladies” didn’t want to see. Darcy loved the gore, or the fake gore. She liked to be scared and jump into Steve’s arms. And then laugh about it afterward at some greasy spoon while eating pie and drinking coffee.

When Bruce and Tony joined them, it became a larger than life event. Tony was the one with the plane and the money. He said, “Let’s go gamble.” Instead of flying to Atlantic City, or Las Vegas, he took everyone to Monte Carlo for the weekend, reminiscing about having beaten Whiplash, who had stopped his almost perfect run at the grand prix. When they came home, the shit hit the fan.

Pepper was waiting for them in the common lounge. Her right leg was demurely crossed over her left, and her arms were folded under her breasts. She wore one of her haute couture white suits, pinpoint stilettos and was perfectly coiffed. She was looking at her watch as the group walked in.

“So, did you all have a great weekend?” she asked, voice pleasant but dripping with venom.

“Yes, Pep, we did. And I didn’t sleep the entire time. That’s what I think I’ll go do now,” Tony explained and started for the spiral staircase to go up to the penthouse.

“Sleep? You’re not planning on doing any work today? Just going to sleep?” Pepper stood from the couch and walked to the stairs, blocking his path.

“See, this is why I made YOU CEO. So that I could go play with my friends on school nights and then go sleep when it was over. See how great that is?” he said, then tried to go around her.

“Just a minute there, mister,” said Pepper, and blocked him with a hand on his shoulder. Behind her, the group started yawning loudly, trying to be discrete and leave, but Pepper spun on them. “And don’t think any of you are off the hook. Sam, Natasha is furious that you haven’t called her. Thor, Jane is livid. Steve, all I can say is that you’re lucky it’s your girlfriend who’s leading these little jaunts around New York, and now around the world. Bruce, I wouldn’t bother Betty until after lunch. She’s plenty pissed. And you, young lady, I will be speaking with you later. This nonsense is going to stop. Be ready for lunch.”

With her usual regal air, Pepper left the room, heels clicking behind her. Darcy turned to Steve and said, “She thinks this is my fault. She thinks I’m…what, dating all of you? No, she said I was your girl. Oh, God, she’s going to have me killed, isn’t she?”

“No, Darcy, sweets, calm down,” Steve soothed. “Everything is going to be fine. I’ll go talk to Pepper…”

“No, I’ll do it,” Clint said. “I mean, I helped start this, right?”

“We all did, Clint,” Sam explained. “After you told us.”

“Told you what?” Darcy asked. “What did you tell them, Clint? OMG, Steve!” She spun around on her boyfriend. “Did you tell them? Do they all know?”

“No, of course I didn’t tell them anything,” Steve said, reaching out to touch Darcy, but she pulled away.

“No, Darce, I overheard you guys talking,” Clint said. “I thought it was a shitty thing for the women to do to you. So, I thought, since you’re more like one of the guys, we’ll do a guys’ night. Or days, and whatever.”

“You…were you in the fucking vents? Clint, we just had sex! You listened?”

“OK, I gotta sleep now,” Tony called from the stairs and continued up. There was a chorus of good nights all around as Darcy squared off with Clint, Steve turning on them as well. Sam and Bruce both pulled Thor away, who wasn’t happy that he couldn’t watch Darcy take Clint apart. He’d seen her acuity with a bat, and wanted to see how good she was at fisticuffs.

“No, I didn’t listen to that. But I did see you chatting about the ladies’ lunches. I took these out and didn’t look while you two were…you know.” Clint showed Darcy one of the tiny hearing aids Tony had made him. It was his comms when he was in the field, but was mostly to just hear day to day. “I have 80% hearing loss. Damaged as a child, compounded in the field. But Tony had mercy on me.”

“How do you…” Steve began.

“I read lips, when I don’t have these in. That’s how I saw you. And I didn’t think it was right, what they were doing.”

“Well, they didn’t really do anything,” Darcy said, trying to backtrack a little.

“No, you’re right. They should have done something, like invite you. It was mean to exclude you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not a lady, I guess,” Darcy said, looking down at the carpet.

“Ladies are all good and fine, but give me a fun, cool chick any day. Someone I can be myself with. Someone who won’t make me act all the time. Then, I know that if I want to relax, she won’t be so disappointed in who I really am. See, that’s you. We can all be ourselves around you, and you accept us, no questions or arguments. Steve, gotta say, while I’d never go after another man’s girl, I’m pretty damn jealous of your lady.”

Darcy smiled a little, but it wasn’t from joy. More like a grimace. “I’m going to get some rest. And then go see the Scorpioni.”

Both Clint and Steve laughed. Darcy went down the spiral stairs to her own room, straight through to her bedroom. By the time she got her pajamas on, a text came through from Pepper to join her for lunch in the penthouse suite. And Darcy laughed. Finally, a ladies’ lunch.

She napped a few hours, with the order to JARVIS to wake her with 15 minutes to get to lunch. She was going to go as she was. Messy, unwashed hair, glasses, no makeup, scuzzy pajamas. Maybe she’d slip a sweater on over it. But like Clint said, she accepted people as they were. So she was going as she was, and they would either accept her or they wouldn’t.

When she walked onto the penthouse floor, she saw the large table set with china and silver, cut crystal glasses all in the right places. They were trying to intimidate her with manners and all that. She’d read those books on table manners and how to eat without looking like you were eating. She’d gotten bored as a little girl and read a bunch of her grandmother’s books, Emily Post and the like.

She walked into the room and that’s when the four ladies came out, all carrying different dishes to the table. Darcy smirked, as if they were going to make her think they cooked. They set the plates down, and took their own seats, and Natasha made it a point to sit beside Darcy, but she softened her face. She almost smiled at Darcy. This was the most emotion she’d ever shown the girl.

“So, what’s for lunch?” Darcy asked, reaching out to grab a bottle of San Pellegrino water and pour it into the correct glass. She picked it up by the stem and took a sip. Her eyes darted around the table at the other women.

“So, I’m going to get to the point,” Pepper said. “Why is it the men of our group, our men, seem so taken with you? What have you been doing?”

“Oh, nothing big. Mostly games.”

“Games?” Jane asked. The look of disbelief on her face was almost like a bullet in Darcy’s chest. Did Jane really not trust Darcy? After all they’d been through together, did Jane really think Darcy wanted Thor?

“Yeah, mostly baseball. But some hockey, basketball. Football doesn’t start until August. But that’s going to be awesome.”

“Why would they want to go with you?” Betty asked. She and Darcy didn’t really know each other that well, but they’d talked a few times.

“Because Steve and Clint and Sam and I are like, buddies. You know? Gotta have friends. You all do those shopping lunches, so, I need some friends too, don’t I?”

That was when it clicked, Darcy figured, at least for Natasha. “You were jealous of us four going to lunch without you, so you decided to steal our men?” she asked, quirking her eyebrow. She wasn’t dressed all daintily like the other three ladies, but she was wearing high-fashion jeans, boots that probably cost more than Darcy’s entire wardrobe, and a leather jacket so buttery soft, Darcy wanted to either diaper it or fuck it. Natasha’s question didn’t sound as accusatory as it did amused.

“No, not steal them. Look, Clint started this, OK? He asked me first. Well, with Steve, too. By the way, I don’t want any of your men, and Clint is gay. He’s fucking Coulson, and I thought everyone knew that. I’m fucking Steve, and I thought at least you would know that, Natasha. Jane never listens to me.”

Darcy looked across the table at the woman she’d once thought was one of her best friends. Jane’s face was crumpled, disbelief the main feature.

“I tune you out because I’m pretty tired of listening to you babble about cat and sloth videos on the internet. I’m not interested in kid stuff.”

Darcy just sighed. “Whatever. Are we done? If you ‘ladies’ (and Darcy made sure they all saw her air quotes) don’t trust your men, that’s between you and them. My man, I would trust him with any one of you. Now, I’m going to go to his room, take off my clothes and get in his bed.”

Darcy got up and left the table, and as she mentioned, went straight to Steve’s room. He was in bed, like she thought, but she didn’t take off anything but her sweater, back to her camisole and Spongebob Squarepants pajama pants, and crawled into Steve’s bed. He’d shucked down to his boxer shorts, like always, and smiled with his eyes still closed. He pulled her closed and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“What happened?” he asked.

“They accused me like I thought. But I reminded them I’m fucking you…”

“Darce,” he warned.

“Well, I am. And Tony? Ew. Thor? He’s like my brother. Sam? Would YOU tempt Natasha’s wrath? And Bruce is afraid of me, I think. So, whatevs. C’mon, let’s go back to sleep.”

The two curled up together, Darcy being the little spoon, and they drifted back to sleep.

*-*-*-*

When Darcy again came up for consciousness, it was to JARVIS gently calling to both of them, trying to awaken them.

“Miss Lewis, Captain Rogers, I am sorry to disturb your sleep, but it is urgent you both wake up and meet Sir on the penthouse level. He assures me any mode of dress is acceptable. It is quite the emergency.”

“Sure Jarv,” Darcy said, yawning. “Is there coffee?” she asked, pulling the covers down.

“Yes, Miss Lewis, hot and waiting for you.”

“OK, tell Tony we’ll be there in five minutes.”

Darcy looked over at Steve and said, “You go pee first. It’s going to take me a minute to get myself up. I’m still working off that last ride on that bungee cable in the casino.”

“Yes, dear,” Steve said, kissing her cheek and then bounded from the bed to the bathroom. Steve was a private bathroom person. Darcy totally understood, but she’d break him of that habit eventually.

When they were both making their way to the Penthouse lounge, Tony was sloshing scotch into a tumbler and said, “Who’s for getting shit-faced? I am! I think this is the perfect time for…why did you bring muscle, Lewis? I just needed to talk to you.”

“I’ve been getting sneak-attacked lately. I don’t travel without weight. What’s the damage?”

“FCC. They want to know why someone in my tower hacked the Hubble telescope.”

“I didn’t hack it, I used a SHIELD secure login.”

“And they consider that hacked. SHIELD is just rebuilding, and you didn’t identify in advance as SHIELD. So, I need to go talk to the senate. Thanks, little bit.”

“First, fuck you, there’s nothing little about me, except my shoe size. Second, I’ll go with you and tell them exactly what I think of some of the greatest minds in astrophysics since Neil de Grasse Tyson not being able to use the Hubble telescope when they need it to find out whether or not a black hole is natural, made by the Tesseract or a cluster of meteroids. It’s bullshit. And they know it, and you know it. I’m going.”

Tony was wearing that little smirk, the one that meant trouble. And everyone knew it.

“You too, Bomb Pop, you’re coming with us to Washington!” And then Tony got on the phone to one of Pepper’s assistants to make plans for the three of them to go to Washington.

In the morning, Tony waited on the rooftop landing deck for Darcy and Steve. They were going in one of the modified Quinjets with Clint and Natasha as flight control and security. As was Steve, who was wearing one of the designer suits Tony made him get. It was custom fitted to him, and actually was quite comfortable. Far more comfortable than his action suit. He did, however, decide he needed his shield with him. It was non-negotiable.

Darcy wowed them all, walking onto the roof deck wearing a sleek black pinstriped skirt suit, with a white silk blouse underneath, black platform shoes that gave her impressive height and just the right amount of jewelry: pearl earrings, with a matching necklace and bracelet. She even wore her great grandmother’s cameo on her lapel. She had a leather tote with her tablet, files she needed to explain her position on what Jane and Erik needed to do, to monitor space, and any new threats to the planet.

She strapped herself into her seat, next to Steve, who took her hand for the flight. Clint and Natasha looked at each other with smiles.

“Senate’s not going to know what hit them,” Clint said.

“Yes they will. One short, stacked whirlwind,” Tony supplied.

At the Capital building, Natasha led the way for Tony through the throng of press waiting for them to arrive. Steve followed Tony, leading Darcy and Clint brought up the rear. They filed into the hearing room, Tony and Darcy sitting at the table, Natasha, Steve and Clint right behind them. Clint and Natasha wore simple business suits, mirroring Steve’s.

Darcy organized her materials, went through the maps and charts she’d designed for presentation, and sent a message to JARVIS to make sure he took over the video screens. When she got started she wanted to make sure everyone knew she meant business. Natasha had patted Darcy on the shoulder, partially to wish her luck, and Darcy felt that it was partially to forgive Darcy and also apologize. Natasha was a woman of few words, but she wasn’t one to hold a grudge in the team.

*-*-*-*

“And furthermore, if you senators want to be re-elected, you’ll make sure your constituents are alive. That means giving my lab unimpeded access to the Hubble telescope and all of the satellites that are monitoring deep space. If we can’t discern whether a meteoroid cluster is hiding a threat, then there’s no hope for this planet if there is one. And if the Avengers can’t get all the facts, there won’t be a planet to save.”

Darcy tapped her tablet to turn off the video screens and end her presentation. She sat beside Tony who hadn’t said a word. He didn’t need to. As soon as the first Senator had started to speak, Darcy cut him off and began her presentation, as well as taking over the hearing. JARVIS had turned off all microphones but hers, so she was uninterrupted. But as she spoke, they were actually quiet and listened.

Darcy had taken several public speaking courses in undergrad, and was a member of Toastmasters, not because she was afraid of public speaking, but because she wanted to learn better how to gain the attention of a crowd when Twitter and Facebook were far more interesting nowadays. One had to be more interesting, more engaging, and while she wasn’t above using her full bra and ample cleavage to get attention in the club, it wasn’t the way to get attention in a meeting. Women had a difficult enough time being taken seriously for their brains without a full-figured girl coming in and screwing it all up.

This was the moment for which she’d waited since Thor and Mew Mew fell out of the sky. When her experience and knowledge would prove she knew what she was talking about, that she was finally just as smart as the scientists she cared for every day. Maybe it wasn’t the same type of knowledge, but she didn’t study and write papers and get over one hundred thousand dollars in debt to fetch coffee and Pop-tarts for her entire career, regardless of whether she got to stay in Avengers Tower or not. But with the man smiling next to her, Darcy figured she was going to end up with a career in Stark Industries very soon.

The hearing was ended because effectively, Darcy was done, covered everything with what she said. Also, just as the first senator was about to say something, she abruptly stood up, grabbed her briefcase and left the hearing room. Tony, being the showman he always is, stood, put his sunglasses on, blew kisses to all of the senators and left the room with Darcy, Natasha, Steve and Clint following. They fell back into their entry formation and made their way back to the limo that would take them to where they landed the Quinjet.

The ride back was silent, as was the flight back to New York. Darcy waited for Steve to exit the jet before her, as she knew he would hold her hand to help her step down. It felt nice, the way he could not only treat her like one of the guys, an equal, but also as a lady, and it felt really good. Especially when she felt like she won.

They all walked into the penthouse lounge, expecting Tony to call the party to begin, but when they entered, there was already a party waiting for them. There was a huge buffet, drinks, desserts and lots of champagne. Darcy looked around at the other Avengers and the ladies waiting for the return of the group. 

There was a banner above the desserts table that read: Congratulations Darcy. She looked around at all the faces smiling at her and was confused. What exactly was she being congratulated for?

“Darcy, you were so wonderful on C-SPAN,” Jane said to her, smiling widely with respect. “I didn’t know you knew that much about space exploration, I guess.”

“Well, how long have I worked for you? I picked up a few things, you know!” Darcy smiled back, not wanting to attack her friend. 

“You were magnificent!” gushed Betty. “I want to say I’m impressed, but the way you handle people, and boss Bruce around without making him flustered, I should have expected this.”

“This is one time where I am glad that I am wrong about someone,” Pepper admitted. “You were wonderful, Darcy. Did you design all of those charts and that presentation last night?”

“Uh, yeah, I worked on it after dinner. Wasn’t hard, actually. JARVIS did the heavy lifting.”

“I had excellent direction, Miss Lewis,” was the lovely voice from above. Darcy smiled up at the ceiling.

“I think we need to start pouring the champagne,” Tony said, walking behind the big bar. He grabbed a bottle and popped the cork causing Clint to automatically jump into the air and grab it mid-flight.

The party began and music played. Darcy kicked off her shoes and sat on the couch, taking a glass of champagne from Steve, who perched on the arm beside her. The members of the rebuilt SHIELD arrived and all congratulated Darcy on a well-done dressing down of the senate. Truly, for once, she felt like the belle of the ball, and knew she deserved it.

*-*-*-*

Darcy was working on transcribing the last of Jane’s notes before she was going to head out of the office. Steve was sitting on the desk, playing a game on his phone, laughing like a child. Darcy had found it for him. You got to pretend you were a shark and eat fish, crabs, even people. Steve was amazed at how much great information there was about sharks available. The click of the heels on the hard flooring of the lab caught Darcy’s attention and she looked up.

“Oh, um, hey, Pepper, how are ya?” she asked, before saving her work one last time.

“Wonderful, thank you. I wanted to ask you something, if you’re not busy.”

“No, go ahead,” Darcy said, closing the lid of the laptop. She knew what was coming. It was going to happen. After the senate hearing, Steve dropping the dime during the party about her masters’ degree, which started the toasts. But here she was, talking to the woman she thought didn’t even give her a second thought.

“Well, Jane, Natasha, Betty and I were going to lunch tomorrow, and we wanted to invite you along. It was rude of us not to include you. We’re going French, is that alright with you?”

“Wow, I’m sorry, I wish I could go, but I have plans later that night, and I’m leaving work a little early. I was going to eat at my desk and work through lunch. We have tickets to the Brooklyn Cyclones’ game.”

“We?” Pepper asked. 

“Yeah, the guys. We planned this for a while. Steve hasn’t seen a baseball game in Brooklyn in like…seventy years. So, I’m treating him!” 

They looked at each other and smiled. Then Darcy turned back to Pepper and shrugged.

“Well, that sounds like a lovely time,” Pepper said, still smiling. “I guess we’ll just have to hope for next time.”

“Yeah, next time. I’d love to. Really, thank you.” Darcy smiled. Pepper smiled back.

The tall redhead nodded and left the lab, head held high and regal as usual. Darcy did hope they would ask her again. She actually did want to go on a lunch. And she smiled at Steve as Pepper left.

“They like you,” Steve said.

“I hope so. It would be nice. But we’re still going to the baseball game tomorrow night!” Steve leaned down and pressed a kiss to Darcy’s mouth.

“What are we doing tonight?” he asked.

“Oh, that’s not so hard to guess about.” Darcy kissed Steve again and stood from her desk. She was done with work for the day. The night was just beginning.


End file.
